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Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoCHRIS RUSSELL | DispatchJane Grote Abell, chairwoman of Donatos Pizza, will be featured in an episode of the CBS reality series
Undercover Boss after disguising herself to take a lower-level job in her family’s company.

S-h-h-h. Keep this under your hat, but Jane Grote Abell, chairwoman of Donatos Pizza, will be
featured in an episode of the CBS reality series
Undercover Boss.

It’s hard to imagine that Grote Abell, daughter of Donatos founder Jim Grote and one of the
Columbus company’s most-visible faces, could don a disguise good enough to go undetected in her
family’s company. But she did.

The episode is scheduled to air at 8 p.m. on Oct. 11 on WBNS-TV (Channel 10) in Columbus.

“I wanted to participate in
Undercover Boss to experience firsthand the inner workings of our company and to interact
with our associates on the front line who make a difference for Donatos every day,” Grote Abell
said in a statement.

“In addition to ensuring the mission and promise of Donatos is alive and well across the
company, I wanted to have the chance to discover unsung heroes within our organization and discern
changes we can make to be the best pizza chain possible,” she said.

The brand exposure offered by the popular reality show is “invaluable,” said Tom Heiby, CEO of
Columbus marketing-communications firm FrazierHeiby.

“Donatos has a stellar reputation, a great brand,” said Heiby, who guessed that a prime-time,
national-TV advertisement of a similar length would cost millions of dollars. “It has a reputation
for really taking care of (its) employees.”

White Castle, another Columbus food company, offered a $20,000 culinary-school scholarship to
one employee and reshaped its Leaders of Tomorrow training program after Dave Rife, a
fourth-generation owner, did an
Undercover Boss episode that aired in February 2010.

“My experience in working undercover has given me a unique insight into how we can create an
even better company for all of our family, including our employees,” Rife said in a statement six
months after the airing.